I Wish I Were In Paris

From war to peace and politics to gossip, if we have an opinion on something we'll share it here.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Sacramone BALONEY!!

I'm sure that I'll be blasted by fans of Alicia Sacramone, but I could care less!!

Sacramone: 'Unfinished business' ends retirement

Beijing Olympian Alicia Sacramone, who had announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics, told NBC Sports she plans to return to the gym with a goal of competing in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Sacramone’s 2008 Summer Games didn’t go as planned -- the former world floor champion failed to advance to the individual final, and she fell twice during the team final (beam and floor), in which the U.S. finished second to China.

Sacramone, 21, cites "unfinished business" as her primary reason for returning. "I obviously didn’t have the best showing at the Olympics," she said, “and I want to prove to myself and to others that I can do better."

Sacramone, who will be 24 in London, has spent the last year making appearances, recuperating from shoulder and knee injuries and exploring her options in fashion and acting. Sacramone expects to return to the Boston area, where she is from, to train, and plans to transfer from Brown University to another school.

The 2009 Visa (U.S.) Championships begin Thursday for the women in Dallas. While Sacramone will not be competing, Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin is expected to compete on bars and beam. This is a home meet of sorts for Liukin, who lives and trains in the Dallas area. She has said she plans on competing through the London Games.

Contenders for the U.S. all-around title include Olympic silver medalist (team) Bridget Sloan and alternate Ivana Hong, who has recently relocated to the Dallas area to train alongside Liukin. Shawn Johnson, who won four medals in Beijing, including beam gold, will also be a spectator in Dallas. Johnson has not made a decision regarding her future in the sport, but says she plans to return to the gym to evaluate whether she still has the desire to compete at the elite level.

She retired, and now she wants back in to "prove" to the world that she's worthy!! Give me a break!!

First of all, perhaps someone should point out to her that she must EARN a spot on the team for the 2012 Olympics. When the time comes, we'll see if she's good enough to go to London. If she's not good enough and others are, she better not be given a spot on the team just so that she can attempt to "redeem" herself.

Second of all, why do these athletes all talk about coming out of retirement to "prove" something. If she wants to compete, fine!! But compete because you really want to be there, not because you have something to PROVE!!

She reminds me of Michelle Kwan. She didn't like the medal that she got so she kept coming back, and in the end she never got what she wanted.

So the question must be asked. If she EARNS a spot for London and doesn't win there, is she going to retire and then come back to "prove" something in 2016? What about 2020 and beyond?

Saturday, August 01, 2009

LIARS!!!!!

The U.S. military occupies a country and bombs the hell out of it because they're bringing "freedom" to the people. The U.S. military sets up command at a historical site and destroys it because they're "protecting" it. When presented with the facts, the U.S. military says that they respect historical places. Really? I don't think so!!

U.S. troops accused of damaging Babylon's ancient wonder

(CNN) -- The U.S. military did major damage to the site of one of the wonders of the ancient world while converting it into a base, the United Nations said in a new report.

The site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was converted into Camp Alpha shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

The troops and their contractors caused "major damage" by digging, cutting, scraping and leveling while they were revamping the site to meet military standards, the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, said in a report.

"Key structures that were damaged include the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way," the report added.

The Ishtar Gate, an entrance to the northern part of the city, is decorated with animals that portray the symbol of the god of the city of Babylon.

"Damage to the gate includes smashed bricks on nine of the bodies of the animals adorning the gate," according to the report.

A military official said she had not seen the U.N. report, but added that one of the reasons troops set up a base at the site was to safeguard it.

"Coalition forces first occupied the Babylon site in April 2003 during the ground campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a purpose, among others, of protecting the ruins from looting after the provincial museums in Babylon and Kufa were robbed of their entire contents," said Lt. Col. Tamara Parker, a spokeswoman.

"U.S. forces respect historical sites in Iraq," she added.

The United Nations lists additional damage to the site, including trenches used as firing positions and barbed wire secured to various spots.

The stakes used to set up the barbed wire damaged walls, according to the report.

Babylon, an hour's drive south of Baghdad, dates to ancient Mesopotamia. The city on the banks of the Euphrates River was the home of Hammurabi and later Nebuchadnezzar, who built the famous gardens for his wife. Alexander the Great wished to make Babylon his capital, but died before realizing his plan.

During colonial times, archaeologists hauled off Babylon's artifacts to Europe. Some of those artifacts can be seen in a museum in Berlin, Germany.

The site was occupied by Camp Alpha from September 2003 till December 2004, the report said.

The United States has agreed to pay $800,000 to help rehabilitate the Babylon site, an Iraqi official said.

"We were very disappointed when multinational forces took over these ancient sites as bases although they knew how important these sites are to Iraqis and to the entire world," said Abdulzahra al-Talaqani, spokesman for the ministry of tourism.

Plans are under way to clean up the area in August with the help of hundreds of volunteers, according to al-Talaqani.

The U.N. report noted that U.S. troops were not solely responsible for ruining the 4,000-year-old city. Before their arrival, local residents had contributed to the damage, mostly through development, the report said.

"The features of the western side of the city of Babylon disappeared many years ago due to encroachment by agriculture and development on the archaeological zone," the report said.

I have a little comment to those who compiled the U.N. report. The difference between the local people and the U.S. military is that the local people didn't show disrespect to this ancient place. They didn't go in and destroy it purposely. The U.S. military did that, and they didn't care. Then they had the audacity to claim that they have respect for the place. Yeah right!!